Urlacher seeing red over blueprint talk

November 05, 2006|DAVID HAUGH Chicago Tribune

CHICAGO -- A pair of shorts landed on Brian Urlacher's head. Then teammate Alex Brown grabbed one of the half-dozen microphones surrounding Urlacher at his locker Thursday and shoved it into his cheek. Urlacher shot a look he usually reserves for fullbacks when he realized who the culprit was and laughed. Before the conversation returned to today's game against the Dolphins, Lance Briggs teased Urlacher by firing a question about his bowling score. "It's about a 175 average," Urlacher answered. He obviously knocks them down better in the running lanes than the bowling lanes. Somebody cracked that the playful Bears needed to loosen up with 1-6 Miami coming to Soldier Field. "Yeah, we're pretty nervous right now," Urlacher said sarcastically. Unquestionably, the face of the Bears has found it easy to smile often during what is shaping up as the best of his seven NFL seasons. Only two topics tend to wipe that smile away quickly: Mention of the front-page tabloid headlines about his custody battle or the idea the Arizona Cardinals unveiled the blueprint to beat the Bears. Urlacher still will not address his private life in public, but he has no problem scorning the notion the Cardinals are passing trade secrets around the league about the Bears' weaknesses. "Did they beat us? No, they didn't beat us," Urlacher snapped. "They almost beat us, but they didn't. For some reason you play four quarters in the NFL. People keep thinking you play three, and I don't understand it. If that's the blueprint, then do it." As San Francisco found out last Sunday, the answers to beating an NFL team as complete as the Bears can't always be found on paper. Here are some answers that can: Do you anticipate the Bears finalizing any player contract extensions before the Nov. 6 deadline for counting the money toward this year's cap? On a similar note, why didn't the Bears take advantage of the off-week to create some more positive feelings in what could be a special year by giving coach Lovie Smith a big contract extension? The Nov. 6 deadline already produced big news Thursday. General manager Jerry Angelo made quite a statement about how much the organization values loyalty by announcing the three-year contract extension for center Olin Kreutz. While the smart move all but assured Kreutz will finish his career in a Bears uniform, it also dropped yet another hint that linebacker Lance Briggs will not. The Bears were in more danger of losing Briggs than Kreutz, but in this natural negotiating window they focused their energies on working out a deal with a core player committed to staying in Chicago rather than one intent on testing the market. Maybe Briggs ultimately will do what Kreutz did four years ago and turn down an offer $3 million higher to remain a Bear, but agent Drew Rosenhaus probably would not be able to look at himself in the mirror if he allowed that. Another strong possibility gaining steam might be that the Bears apply the franchise tag on Briggs to keep him in Chicago and pay him the average of the five top linebackers in the league. The Bears also took care of hard-working fullback Jason McKie on Thursday, extending his contract for five years, and it would make sense to do the same with free-agent-to-be starting strong safety Todd Johnson. As for Smith's contract, there is no ticking clock. Nobody questions how it makes the Bears look cheap to have the NFL's lowest-paid head coach in charge of the team with the league's best record. But does anyone really think Smith will feel so slighted he will not sign an extension when the Bears approach him at the end of the season -- a timetable both sides have deemed appropriate? Remember, it wasn't that long ago that Carolina's John Fox outcoached Smith in the NFC playoffs, so ripping up Smith's deal in the off-season for a new one frankly would have been an overreaction to a surprising 11-5 season. Negotiating now might risk upsetting the chemistry in a locker room that includes a few players (Briggs, Nathan Vasher, Thomas Jones) who could wonder why the organization can find money for Kreutz and their head coach's new contracts during the season but not theirs. If his team keeps winning as it should, Smith will sign a bigger deal at the end of the season than he would have in the middle or during training camp. Do you think the Bears' coaching staff is trying to do to Cedric Benson what the Chiefs' coaching staff did to Larry Johnson, who was also portrayed as a malcontent while sitting behind Priest Holmes? First of all, comparing Benson with a guy who has emerged as one of the best running backs in the NFL seems premature based on Benson's brief time on the field. No, Johnson didn't play much either his first 2 1/2 seasons behind Holmes, but I'm not sure if his immaturity suddenly disappeared only because coach Dick Vermeil publicly embarrassed him. It's fair to wonder whether the Bears limited Benson's carries last week after his comments critical of the coaching staff.